


A different kind of family

by Oncer993



Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Aunt Wanda, Baby, F/M, Gen, Post-Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), Romanrogers - Freeform, Tony Being Tony, adoption-sort of, romanogers - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-08
Updated: 2016-10-08
Packaged: 2018-08-20 04:05:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8235479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oncer993/pseuds/Oncer993
Summary: While helping a country in despair, Steve and Natasha find something that they thought was lost to them forever.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RomanrogerBitch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RomanrogerBitch/gifts).



The battle in Sokovia left the Avengers with too much blood on their hands and dirt on their name. The Hulk vanished, Thor returned home and no one really knew where Tony ran off to. Steve and Natasha stayed behind to rebuild. They still had faith in S.H.I.E.L.D and they were determined to see the organization return to its former glory.

They took it upon themselves as the only remaining members of the Avengers to train the new recruits. They were powerful; they had already proven that but they had to learn to work together as a team. Look out for the other members, strategize together and further hone their skills.

It earned them the nickname of “mom and dad” behind their backs.

~

“Why are we doing this again?” Sam asked over the comm as he surveyed the area from his aerial point of view. He regarded the area below warily as if he expected them to be ambushed any minute.

“Saving lives,” Steve replied calmly.

There were thankfully no new threats but that didn’t mean there wasn’t work to be done. Despite their best efforts, they still caused more harm than good in Sokovia. It left them with a huge sense of guilt and the desire to do something about it.

Over the past few weeks, they had taken it upon themselves to provide aide to places lying in ruins. Currently they were in a small country called Haddonfield; it had been caught in the cross hairs of their warring neighbors.

Recovery wasn’t easy for those who had survived. The majority of the men had been forced to join in the fight and had lost their life as a result. The women and children tried to get by as best they could but with a severe lack of resources and funds, it was a struggle every day.

Satisfied that everything was okay, Sam gave the all clear and the others began to exit the vehicle. Steve went around to the back to begin to unload the supplies.

Carefully and cautiously, people began to come out of what was left of their homes.

“It’s okay; we’re not here to hurt you.” Natasha said softly to a small girl who was holding onto her mother’s leg.

She knelt down to the child’s level after receiving a nod from her mother.

“Hey, what’s your name pretty girl?”

The child’s eyes looked up to her mother’s for approval.

“Go on,” Her mother rubbed her head comfortingly.

“Lily,” the girl answered shyly, her fingers now nervously playing with her mother’s tattered dress.

“Pretty name too,” Natasha beamed. “I have something for you.” Natasha opened the bag in her hand and pulled out a small teddy bear. Besides the essentials, Wanda had suggested they bring small toys for the kids saying it would cheer them up.

If the huge smile on Lily’s face was any indication, her suggestion was spot on.

“Thank you,” Lily’s mother replied gratefully as her daughter snuggled the bear.

Natasha simply smiled in returned. After realizing they truly weren’t a threat, more people stepped forward eager to take whatever the heroes had to offer. Sam landed and assisted Steve in opening boxes. Bottled water was passed around, clean linen, toiletries, clothing and more toys for the children.

It wasn’t much; it wasn’t a new home; it wouldn’t bring their loved ones back but it was _something_. Seeing the smiles on their faces, hearing their repeated thank you’s and even being pulled into a few hugs made the long trip worth it.

“Good job, Cap,” Sam smacked Steve’s back as they watched the group of people eat at the makeshift dinner table they had constructed. Steve shrugged off the compliment. He hadn’t done anything spectacular or at least his modesty wouldn’t allow him to think so.

“Just doing what anybody would do.”

“No, this was all your idea. You could have just as easily sat back like everyone else and turned a blind eye.” Natasha added as she joined them.

Wanda was sitting on the ground with a small boy and girl, twins as fate would have it, listening to them intently. It was nice to see her in a good mood. She hadn’t been the same since Pietro’s untimely death.

When nightfall came everyone had turned in for the night except Steve. His restless mind wouldn’t allow him to wind down so he found himself outside leaning against the van. He was lost in his thoughts when he felt a light tap on his shoulder. Turning around, he found Natasha standing behind him.

“Hey,” he said softly giving her one final look before facing forward again.

“Hey yourself,” she replied, coming to stand by his side. “Can’t sleep?”

He shook his head as he crossed his arms. “What about you?”

“Who says I actually sleep?”

“I just can’t shake what happened in Sokovia.”

“It wasn’t your fault.” Natasha told him. She had said it so much, to herself, to him, to the team, that it was just coming out at this point.

“I coulda done more.”

“You did what you could.” Another mechanical reply.

“Steve,” Natasha called his name and it forced him to look over at her.

“It is not your fault. We did what we could. We saved more lives than we…than we _didn’t_. You can’t continue to carry this with you. It’ll eat you up.” Her eyes pleaded for him to understand.

If the best of them fell apart, then there was no hope for anyone else. She refused to allow him to drown on the sinking ship of his misplaced guilt.

“How do you live with it?” He asked desperately like he was asking for the answer to one of the world’s greatest mysteries.

“One day at a time. I’ve done plenty of things that I’m not proud of, but I keep going. You _have_ to too,”

“Seems like a waste of a second chance if I just keep messing things up,” she heard him mumble.

“News flash Steve, Captain America isn’t perfect. You’re just a man, a very human man behind that shield. Stop carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders,” She sighed. She was beginning to think she couldn’t get through to him.

“It was sort of what I was created to do.”

“Smart ass,”

“Language,”

She glanced at him from the corner of her eye to see him fighting the urge to grin about his sarcastic comment.

She lifted a hand and placed it comfortingly on his shoulder. “You gotta let it go, Steve. What you’re doing here is good. Be proud of that.”

She was right; he couldn’t keep going back to the past. Not to the 1940’s when he fought alongside Peggy and the Howling commandos during the war. Not way before then when he was just a skinny kid hanging out with Bucky in Brooklyn. _This_ was his life now. An Avenger, one who, despite his best efforts, was still bound to make mistakes.

“When’d you get so wise Romanoff?” Steve couldn’t help but to smirk as he said it.

“I’ve always been that way; you just weren’t paying attention.” She nudged him with her elbow jokingly. It hardly felt like more than a tickle to him. “Come on and get some sleep. Super soldiers need their 8 hours too.”

He laughed boisterously at that. _Eight Hours?_ He couldn’t remember the last time he got a decent night’s sleep.

~

At some point, Steve did manage to go to sleep. How long he slept was up in the air.

“What??” He mumbled as he began to sit up. He had heard someone call out his name, but in the dimly lit room, he couldn’t make anyone out.

“Sam?” He rubbed his eyes.

But before Sam could respond, Natasha came running into the room. 

“Steve,” she sounded out of breath.

The sense of sleepiness instantly went away, his sense of awareness replacing it.

“What happened?” He demanded to know.

“Just come with me, you too, Sam,”

Sam got to his feet at a much slower rate than Steve had and followed them both out of the small home.

The sun hadn’t risen yet but the light blue sky provided some light as they went outside. Steve kept his gaze sharp as he followed Natasha.

“Where we going?” Sam asked grumpily.

She didn’t provide an answer. She led them to a house further down and motioned for them to come in.

The two men shared a look but followed without any complaint.

Sounds of a woman screaming was the first thing Steve heard. Immediately he began to stride forward but Natasha shook her head calmly at him.

“Okay will someone tell me what the hell is going on?” Sam had had enough of Natasha’s evasiveness and much rather preferred to still be sleeping.

“She’s giving birth.” Wanda said matter-of-factly as she stepped into their view. Looking up from her nails, she met their eyes.

“ _What_?” Steve asked in disbelief.

“She’s having a baby, you know a tiny little human?” Wanda looked at him incredulously. 

“I know what a baby is. Who’s having a baby?”

“One of the women here. She didn’t look too far along when I saw her yesterday but I guess she hadn’t eaten much. It’s not like she could have anyways.” Natasha finally spoke. “They wanted us to come here but I don’t know how much help we’ll be. Anyone ever delivered a child?”

Wanda and Sam answered no at the same time. Steve didn’t answer at all.

“Who’s in there with her now?” He asked instead.

“Someone she trusts. I think he’s the closest thing they have to a doctor.”

“So why are we here?”

Natasha shot a glare in Sam’s direction. “We’ll find out soon enough.”

“Great,” he mumbled under his breath.

He sat down on the floor as he waited along with everyone else. Wanda preoccupied herself with little bursts of magic while Steve began to pace.

Natasha never took her eyes off the closed door in front of them. They listened. They waited as they heard more screams and the man’s voice giving her directions. There was another voice in the room as well, another woman, who they assumed was assisting.

“The baby won’t be able to stay here.” Wanda spoke up during a moment of quietness.

All eyes turned to face her.

“It’s hard enough for the children here, but a baby? They’d never have a chance.”

“She’s right,” Steve agreed.

“So what, we just take them from their mother?” Natasha nearly shouted at them.

More screams interrupted their conversation followed by the loud cries of a baby.

“They just made their big depute into the world.” Sam announced, getting to his feet.

“Sure sounds like it,” Steve commented.

“We wait here until they let us in.” Natasha said as she still stood protectively with her arms crossed in front of the door.

It didn’t take long for the door to open. The elderly man waved them inside. Sam stayed behind and so did Wanda. Steve joined Natasha as the door was shut after them.

The new mother looked exhausted and entirely too pale but the love in her eyes was evident as she nestled the infant close to her.

“Come, come,” she said to them. Her voice sounded strained.

They stepped closer.

“What can we do for you?” Natasha asked as she knelt down.

Holding the child closer with one hand, she used the free one to reach for Natasha’s. Natasha nearly jumped as she felt the icy touch of her fingers.

“Take her,” She told her as she looked her in the eyes. “Please, take her.”

“I--” Natasha was at a loss for words.

Steve just watched on, feeling just as speechless.

The other woman spoke up. “She won’t make it. She wants her child to at least have a chance.”

It broke both of their hearts to hear her talk in such a detached manor. Considering all they had been through and witnessed, however, death was probably quite common to them now.

“Please,” she woman begged again, squeezing Natasha’s hand with strength that took her by surprise.

“We’ll make sure she’s alright,” Steve promised. The mother’s eyes rolled up to meet his and she gave him a weak but grateful smile.

“Thank you, thank you,”

She pulled her hand away and held the infant with both hands once more. She didn’t have much time. She had lost too much blood; she could almost feel her life slipping away. But she refused to miss a moment with her daughter.

“Time,” she said softly. “Give me some time,”

And with that Natasha rose to her feet. “We’ll be here.” She said before they left.

Steve held the door for her as she walked through. Wanda knew by the look on their faces that what they had to say wasn’t going to be good. Sam knew it too.

“What happened?” His earlier annoyed tone was gone. He sounded genuinely concerned now.

“Let’s have this conversation outside.” Steve suggested.

The four of them gathered around the van. More people had stirred to go see the new baby and mother. After he was sure they were out of ear-shot, Steve began to inform the newest members of what happened.

Sam shook his head sadly. Wanda tried to fight back the tears.

“But we’re going to help her right?” She asked hopefully.

“Of course. I gave her my word.”

“Which you shouldn’t have done,” Natasha cut in.

“Excuse me?”

“Steve, we can’t take care of a baby. We don’t have the time, the mon--”

“I gave her my word. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

Like children, Wanda and Sam watched on quietly as their “parental” figures had a disagreement. If the situation hadn’t been so sad, they might have cracked a smile.

Natasha glared up at Steve with her hand on her hip. Steve had one hand braced on the van and the other waving around animatedly as he spoke.

“Tell me Captain America, how are you going to singlehandedly raise a child and save the world?”

“Nothing’s happening right now.”

“No, not right now but there’s always some idiot trying to take over the world next. Are you going to get a nanny?”

“Okay, hold on Nat, no one said I’d be doing this alone.”

“Oh? Because I never agreed to this; it’s not like you gave me a choice in the matter anyways.”

“So this is _my_ fault?”

“Damn right it is, Rogers.”

“You’re the one who wouldn’t say anything. You expected me to tell a dying mother that we’d just leave her daughter here to die too? How cold can you be Romanoff?”

Natasha didn’t take insults personally. But that one stung. She gasped and lifted her hand to slap Steve before she could even think it through. Steve was left holding his face and staring back at her in shock.

“Don’t you ever call me cold,” she said before storming off angrily.

“Are you alright?” Wanda asked.

“Just peachy,” It took a lot to hurt him, but Natasha was tough and she wanted him to feel it.

“At least it didn’t leave a mark,” Sam tried to lighten the mood. No one laughed as he hoped they would though.

“I should go after her.” Wanda offered.

“I got it.” Steve held up a hand to stop her. Dropping his other hand from his face he walked in the direction she had gone.

“Man, they argue just like my parents did.” Sam remarked, leaning back against the van and shaking his head.

Wanda nodded her head in agreement. “Arguments sounded way scarier in my language.”

Steve all but yanked the door open as he went inside. The people of Haddonfield didn’t have much to spare, but they offered them a place to lay their head for the night. A room for Steve and Sam in one house, a room for the Wanda and Natasha in another.

“Nat,” Steve called out to her.

He couldn’t believe she had slapped him. He expected to be barraged with insults from her. Instead he heard the sound of muffled crying. Frowning, he allowed his ears to guide him to her.

He found her, clutching something in her arms as she tried to quiet her cries. She hadn’t heard him come in at all.

“Nat,” He repeated, much softer this time.

He saw her shoulders jump followed by her sniffles. “What do you want?”

“Are you okay?” He tried to step towards her to see her face but she turned away from him.

“I’m fine,”

“You are _not_ fine. I didn’t mean to call you cold.”

He heard her scoff. “I can handle being called a few names. And cold is hardly the worst thing I’ve been called.”

“Well then what is it?”

She sighed. If anyone understood how she felt, it would be Steve. That didn’t mean she was going to spill her guts to him though.

“I said I’m fine.” She put a bit more sternness in her voice as she brushed past him on her way out the room.

At the risk of being smacked again or something worse, Steve reached out to stop her. He pulled her back, leaving her with no choice but to look at him.

“Talk to me,” He looked down at her, his blue eyes locked with her own.

“We both said some things in the heat of the moment. Drop it.” She shrugged out of his arms.

“None of which made you cry. I’ve known you for a while now; you don’t cry easily.”

“I’m allowed to have emotions.” She countered defensively.

“So you’re gonna keep this wall up?”

She shrugged.

Steve shook his head at her stubbornness and left her alone. He couldn’t get through to her and he was done trying.

~

The Avengers kept their distance until it was time to go. The mother hadn’t yet passed but she was too weak to nurse the infant. If she was to survive then they had to leave as soon as possible. Wanda held the child securely in her arms. The people waved goodbye; Sam waved back in return.

The only sounds inside the van was the cooing and crying from the baby and Wanda speaking softly to her. No one else said a word. Natasha barely looked at Steve as he drove and she sat in the passenger side.

“Almost there,” Steve informed them.

Fury had arranged for a private plane to pick them up. All they had to do was get to the meeting point.

Once they arrived, Sam got out to get the door for Wanda and the baby. Natasha watched, trying to appear as detached as possible.

“You know when you guys left, it was only four of you.” Mike joked as he took the keys to the van from Steve.

“Things changed,” Steve said.  

“Well we got the items you requested. Diapers, change of clothes and some formula. It’s all inside.”

“Thanks,”

Mike got in the vehicle and drove off. The pilot lowered the stairs and the team got on.

“Do you want me to hold her?” Steve asked after Wanda had finished changing the baby’s diaper. “I’ve got it. She’s not so bad.” She gave the little girl a smile.

“Should we feed her?” Sam asked from his seat.

“She should probably get checked out first but it’s gonna be a while before we’re back home.”

“We could make a pit stop.” Wanda suggested.

“We might just have to do that. Go ahead and give her a bottle and see if she feeds.”

He hoped he was doing the right thing. But she _did_ need to eat. Surely, it couldn’t cause too much harm to her.

“Alright,” Wanda nodded.

Sam prepared the bottle for her. Steve took a seat and they took off.

Just as the drive had been mostly quiet, so had the flight. Natasha managed to drift off and didn’t wake up until they had landed. As she stretched in her seat, she looked out the window. They definitely had made another stop because it didn’t look a thing like New York.

She didn’t bother to ask where they were exactly, it didn’t really matter.

“We won’t be here long.” Steve said as he passed her with the baby girl in his arms. Clearly he had mistaken her expression. She wasn’t upset about the extra stop. Sure she had been against taking the child along, but she wanted her to be well too.

Baby girl A, as she had been dubbed by Sam, was checked out by a pediatrician recommended by SHIELD. Despite her mother’s lack of prenatal care, she turned out to be healthy. The doctor instructed them to monitor her carefully and to seek medical care if they noticed something out of the ordinary. She saw them off with a few pamphlets and recommendations for what the infant would need.

“That’s a long list maybe we could get Tony to foot the bill?” Sam commented as Steve slipped the paper into his back pocket.

“Yeah, sure,” He replied sarcastically.

~

After staying overnight at a local hotel, they arrived back in New York the evening of the following day. Fury demanded to know every single detail leading up to the point where they all but adopted a child from another country. This kept Steve and Natasha tied up with him for a couple of hours. Wanda didn’t mind babysitting Baby A. She hardly fussed and she had always wanted to be a big sister anyways. This was as close as she’d get.

“Hello little one, who’s a sweet girl hmm?” Wanda spoke in a high pitched voice as she waved a teddy bear in front of her face.

She was only two days old so she didn’t pay much attention to it; Wanda didn’t mind.

As soon as Fury felt like he had enough information to handle the issue of getting the proper paperwork for the Avenger’s new addition he dismissed them. Natasha started to pull Steve back to try to talk to him, maybe even apologize too but he walked off so quickly that she didn't get the chance. With a sigh she just headed to her room.

Steve smiled as he leaned in the doorway of Wanda’s room. The baby was lying on her bed with Wanda at her side still waving the bear in front of her.

“You know I think we should name her.” He spoke up as he stepped into the room.

“Wanda is a nice name.” She suggested.

“It is,” Steve said carefully. “I think she needs her own name though, don’t ya think?”

“Perhaps,” Wanda sat the bear down and gently picked her up. “What does she look like to you?”

Steve glanced at the small infant in Wanda’s arms. Taking in her olive skin, dark black hair and wide brown eyes.

In another life, when having kids still seemed possible for him, he dreamt of naming his little girl after his mother Sarah. But she wasn’t his, did he have the right to do such a thing?

“Hold her?” Wanda asked as she held her out for him to take.

Slowly he reached out. It was only the second time he had held her and he still felt uneasy about it. She looked so tiny in his large hands it almost terrified him.

“What are you doing?” He watched as she began typing something into her phone.

“The internet is pretty wonderful. I’m sure it’ll help us pick a name.”

“That seems so…” Steve allowed his sentence to trail off. He could never imagine relying on technology to choose something so personal, so sacred as a name. He was reminded that this wasn’t the world he used to know; it was still so new to him.

Wanda began to read off a few names. Steve shook his head until he heard the perfect one. She must have liked it too because she opened her mouth as if she was trying to speak. It was actually a yawn but Steve took it as a good sign.

“Zoe,” He repeated.

“Zoe?”

“Yes, we should call her Zoe.”  He smiled as he rocked her gently in his arms.

“I like it.” Wanda reached over to rub Zoe’s tummy.

“So do I,”

It didn’t take long for the her to fall asleep in his arms.

“I think I’ll take her to my room. Wouldn’t want you to have to be up all night with her.”

Wanda nodded. She hadn’t mind keeping an eye on the little girl but their travels had been exhausting.

“Good night Steve,”

“Night Wanda.”

As Steve was making his way to his room he caught a whiff of cologne that only one person he knew wore.

“Tony?” He looked up to see the man directing someone else to his room. “What are you doing?”

“Steve! Hey how are you? Is this the little bundle of joy? Let me hold her,” Tony stretched his arms out.

“She’s sleep,” He said still not sure why he was here.

“Oh right, right, she’s pretty cute. Got a name for her?”

“Zoe,” Steve said softly. She had begun to squirm in his arms and he didn’t want her to wake up.

“Well look I took care of getting some things for her. _Technically_ Pepper handled it, but I came to oversee it.”

“All she needs is a bed. I can get the rest.”

“No need, we’ve got it covered.” Tony waved him off.

Steve didn’t feel up to going back and forth with Tony anymore. With a nod, he proceeded to his room. It looked like someone had robbed a Babies r’ us and dumped its contents all over his room.

Tony was about to follow him inside when he suddenly shut the door in his face with his foot. It wasn’t that he was ungrateful but Tony had gone overboard. He shoved a few boxes out of the way with his foot as he walked over to the crib.

He hadn’t heard anyone come in and surely didn’t hear anyone assembling anything. He assumed someone had told Tony while he was held up with Fury.

Oh well, it was all here now and it wasn’t like she couldn’t use it.

He leaned down and placed her in the crib. He pulled the small blanket over her small body and watched her for a few moments.

She appeared peaceful as she lay on the pink covered mattress. He rubbed her head and went to lay down on his own bed.

With everything that had happened, he hadn’t had the time to soak everything in. He was now responsible for a child who would never know her family. Never know where she came from, cultural traditions, etc. He hadn’t even gotten her mother’s name. He was beginning to see why Natasha was so hesitant to agree to take her. They knew nothing about raising a child. But he knew he wouldn’t have left her to suffer the same fate as her mother.

Just as he was closing his eyes, he heard a quiet knock at his door. His eyes immediately turned towards the crib. He didn’t hear her cry so he took it as a sign that she was still asleep. Quickly he got to his feet before they could knock again and actually wake her up.

He opened it expecting to find Tony and more gifts. To his surprise it was Natasha.

“Nat,”

“Hey, got a minute?” She asked looking over his shoulder. “Where is she?”

“Sleep,” He answered as he stepped back.

She walked inside and pushed the door up behind her.

“Wow. Tony?”

Steve nodded his head and motioned for her to take a seat at his desk.

She did after moving a box of diapers out of the way.

“Someone went a little overboard.”

“That’s Tony for you. He sure is Howard’s kid.”

Steve leaned against the wall next to her.

“You don’t talk much about him or your past.” She commented.

“Neither do you,” He shrugged.

She smirked; he _had_ a point.

“Listen about before, I didn’t mean to bite your head off.”

“Water under the bridge.” Steve assured her.

“Really?” She asked as she raised a brow.

“Yeah. Don’t worry about it.”

“It’s not that I didn’t want her to come with us.” She stated as she looked over at the sleeping infant in the crib. “I knew we couldn’t just leave her.”

Steve shoved his hands in his pockets as he turned to look at her, silently waiting for her to continue.

“I—when I was going through my training they had a special graduation ceremony. They made sure we couldn’t have kids. The missions had to be our top priority. A baby would be a distraction, a distraction they couldn’t afford.”

Steve couldn’t believe what she had just said. “Nat…”

“After a while I was okay with the thought of never having a child or so I thought. Seeing Clint’s kids grow up helped. It helped me fill the void a little but it wasn’t the same. They weren’t mines; I’d always have to give them back.” She finally looked down at her lap, playing with her fingers.

“Seeing her mother hold her, seeing the love she had for her. It just reminded me I’d never have that.”

Steve felt compelled to say something to make her feel better.

“A long time ago I wanted a family too. I thought I could settle down and just be normal after the war. With Peggy I had hoped, but things changed. When I came out of the ice and everything I had known was gone I realized so was that dream.”

“I never knew Captain America wanted to be a dad.” She laughed sadly.

“Yeah. I wanted a whole house of kids.” He laughed too.

“I don’t know how long she’ll be with us, Nat. I don’t even know how I’ll manage it. It does give me hope though. Maybe that dream isn’t over after all.”

She looked over at him to find his eyes were already on her. There was understanding there perhaps something more too.

“Do you think I could help?”

His lips lifted up into a smile. “Of course.”

Natasha rose to her feet and took a few steps forward until she was standing in front of him. She reached out and pulled him towards her into a hug. After the initial shock wore off, Steve wrapped his arms around her in return.

“Thanks,” she said.

“Don’t mention it,” He replied.

When they pulled apart he hadn’t completely released her from his arms. She hadn’t made an effort to step away either. He looked down at her and her up at him and then bent his head down towards her. Lips drawing close to hers, she closed her eyes in anticipation.

The kiss was slow unlike the first one they shared on the escalator when they were hiding from undercover members of Hydra. They took the time to savor the feel of one another’s lips.

As they withdrew their lips from one another, their faces just inches apart. Zoe began to cry in her crib.

Like he had been doing this for months instead of just a day, Steve started to go to her.

“Let me,” Natasha said putting a hand on his arm to stop him before she walked towards her.

He watched as she lifted her from the crib and cradled her close. It had been the first time she held her but seeing it, it looked so natural, so perfect.

“Hey there, I got you,” she whispered as she began to rub the infant’s back gently. Zoe began to quiet her cries and calm down in her arms.

Steve couldn’t help but to smile at the sight. The woman who was deadly when it came to a mission, her heart seemed to melt because of the little girl she was holding. If someone told him things would turn out this way, he'd laugh and say they were joking. But that was life and it had a way of giving you what you wanted after all in its own way.

**Author's Note:**

> I really hope I did them justice for you!


End file.
